Current Affairs in English – February 20 2023

February 20, 2023

National Events:

 ‘SemiconIndia Conference of Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Ecosystem’:

• The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Ashwini aishnaw inaugurated the ‘SemiconIndia Conference of Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Ecosystem’.
• The Secretary, MeitY Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Ajit Manocha, President SEMI and Member, Advisory Board of ISM, Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary, MeitY & CEO ISM, other senior officials from MeitY, state governments, delegates from the global semiconductor industry, potential semicon investors and academicians also participated in the event.

Central government:

• The government said it has set up a committee to monitor the impact of rise in temperature on the wheat crop.
• The move comes amid a forecast by the National Crop Forecast Centre (NCFC) that maximum temperature in major wheat producing areas barring Madhya Pradesh was higher-than-average of the last seven years during the first week of February.
• Even the Met Department has projected above-normal temperature in Gujarat, Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, in next two days.

Ayushmann Khurrana:

• In India, Ayushmann Khurrana will represent UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund). The actor’s designation as the National Ambassador was announced by UNICEF.
• As part of his duties, Ayushmann will work with UNICEF to guarantee every child’s rights to life, health, and protection while also fostering their voice and agency in matters that affect them. Prior to 2020, Ayushmann worked as a Celebrity Advocate for UNICEF India to stop violence against children.
• He will work to uphold and defend kids’ rights in his new position. Most recently, he worked with Sachin Tendulkar, Regional Ambassador for UNICEF South, to highlight inclusion and non-discrimination through gender inclusive sports on World Children’s Day 2022.

Ruchira Kamboj:

• Ruchira Kamboj, India’s permanent representative to the UN, has been chosen to serve as the commission’s chair during the 62nd session.
• At the opening session of the 62nd session of the UN Commission for Social Development this week in New York, Kamboj was chosen as chair by acclamation.
• Also, it chose Thomas Lammar of Luxembourg, Jon Ivanovski of North Macedonia, and Carla Mara Carlson of the Dominican Republic to serve as the 62nd session’s vice chairs.

Meghana Pandit:

• One of the major teaching hospitals in the UK, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, has named Professor Meghana Pandit, a renowned physician of Indian descent, as its CEO.
• In addition to being the first person of Indian descent to be nominated CEO of any National Health Service (NHS) trust in the Shelford Group, which includes some of the largest teaching hospitals in the nation, Ms. Pandit becomes the trust’s first female chief.

ICED:

• The Central Water Commission (CWC), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti entered into a Memorandum of Agreement for Development of International Centre of Excellence for Dams (ICED) under externally funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project Phase II and Phase III.
• This MoA will remain valid for ten years or till the duration of the DRIP Phase-II and Phase-II Scheme, whichever is earlier, from the date of signing.

Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park:

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laid the Foundation Stone of the world’s largest and unique Divyang Park – Anubhuti Inclusive Park in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• On the occasion, he informed that the park is being developed keeping in mind the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build an inclusive society.
• Instead of sympathy, this park will show empathy, hence this park has been named Anubhuti Divyang Park.

SHC:

• India celebrates Soil Health Card Day on February 19 every year to remember the beginning of the Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme and to raise awareness of its advantages. The seventh year from the SHC Scheme’s inception is 2022.
• Every two years, all farmers are to receive soil health cards as part of the programme. The Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme was introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 19, 2015, at Suratgarh, Rajasthan.

Train Control and Supervision System:

• India’s first indigenously developed Train Control and Supervision System, the i-ATS (Indigenous–Automatic Train Supervision) deployed on the Delhi Metro. The i-ATS was installed on the Red Line that runs between Rithala and Shaheed Sthal.
• The launch took place on Red Line from the Operations Control Centre (OCC), Shastri Park by the Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Manoj Joshi, in the presence of Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Metro, Bhanu Prakash Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and other senior officials of BEL and DMRC.

 ‘mPassport Police App’:

• The Ministry of External Affairs has launched the ‘mPassport Police App’ to fast-track the passport verification process, and also Union Home Minister Amit Shah dedicated 350 mobile tablets to personnel of the Delhi Police Special Branch.
• The app is not only streamlining the passport verification process but will also helps for timely updating and issuance of the passports as all verifications will take five days now.

International Events:

DUSTLIK:

• The fourth iteration of the biennial training exercise DUSTLIK (2023) will be held in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, from February 20, 2023 through March 5, 2023, as part of a military-to-military exchange programme between the Indian Army and the Uzbekistan Army.

Global Tourism Resilience Day:

• The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution from Jamaica to declare the first-ever Global Tourism Resilience Day on 17th February 2023, in an effort to future-proof the sustainability of tourism.
• The move to mark the day annually was supported by more than 90 countries. The UNGA invites everyone to observe February 17 as a day to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism, in accordance with local, regional and national priorities and through education, activities and events. The first Global Tourism Resilience Conference will be held in Jamaica on February 15, culminating on Global Tourism Resilience Day.

World Pangolin Day:

• World Pangolin Day is observed annually on the third Saturday in February, and this year it falls on February 18. It is a day to remember and celebrate pangolins, raise awareness, and fight against global pangolin capture in Africa and Asia.
• Pangolin Day marks the 12th edition of the event. An estimated one million of these magnificent creatures have been and continue to be harvested from the wild in African and Asian nations to meet the enormous demand for their scale, skin, blood, and even foetuses, which are believed to have multiple purposes in fashion, traditional medicine, and cookery.

World Day of Social Justice:

• World Day of Social Justice is observed annually on February 20. The main goal of this day is to raise a voice against social injustice and to bring together diverse communities around the world in an effort to eradicate poverty, physical discrimination, gender inequalities, religious discrimination and illiteracy, and create a society that is socially integrated.
• The day is an opportunity for individuals, organizations, and governments to reflect on the progress made towards achieving social justice, as well as identify areas where more work is needed.

Xeon W-3400 and Xeon W-2400 desktop workstation processors:

• Intel has launched the new Xeon W-3400 and Xeon W-2400 desktop workstation processors (code-named Sapphire Rapids), which are built for professional creators to provide massive performance for media and entertainment, engineering, and data science professionals.
• According to Intel, the new workstation processors are available for pre-order from industry partners, with system availability beginning in March.

International Industrial Trade Fair and Cottage Industry Festival:

• The 16th edition of the International Industrial Trade Fair and Cottage Industry Festival of Nepal is seeing thousands of footfalls on a daily basis at Bhrikutimandap in Kathmandu starts on 14th February 2023.
• The five-day fair aimed to promote local industries and the consumption of domestic products. Around 183 cottage industries from Nepal and other SAARC countries are exhibiting their products at the five-day fair.

Sports Events:

Virat Kohli:

• Virat Kohli became the sixth and the fastest batter in the world to score 25,000 runs across formats during the second Test against Australia, which India won by six wickets.
• He had come into his 492nd match overall with 52 runs needed to reach the milestone. He scored 44 runs in India’s first innings before being dismissed for 20 runs to finish with 25012 runs.

Ben Stokes:

• England Test captain Ben Stokes became the player to hit the most number of sixes in the history of Test cricket, surpassing England coach and former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum in the match against New Zealand.
• Stokes holds the world record for hitting two sixes in the second innings of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Mount Maunganui (New Zealand). Stokes played an innings of 31 runs in 33 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.

Saurashtra:

• Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets to clinch its second Ranji Trophy 2022-23 title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
• Saurashtra won their second Ranji Trophy title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy title for the first time in 2019-20.